In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there were various studies made by eminent historians, both of the country, and of the county. John Speed produced invaluable maps in his “Theatre of Great Britain”, and William Camden looked at the history and topography of Great Britain in extreme detail in his “Britannia”, first published in 1586, such that he became known as the father of English History (see here for his entry on King’s Newnham). Sir William Dugdale added further details of the various parts of the county in 1656. All these component parts were then combined by William West to produce the History of Warwickshire in 1830, with additional early nineteenth century directory updates added by Adam Murray of the Board of Agriculture.
Some of the earliest maps were created by John Ogilby, and published around 1675 in a publication also entitled “Britannia” – this was a collection of strip maps for routes across the country, with the route from Cambridge to Coventry passing through Rugby and then the local area.
There was also a more compact version produced by John Senex in 1719, complete with updated maps.
